Pinzan poured in a game-high 24 points and Fankam Mendjiadeu netted 22 in the victory.
Game Details
No. 17/19 South Florida 64, VCU 57
USF (6-3), VCU (5-4)
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 | 1 p.m. | ESPN+
Richmond, Va. | Siegel Center
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) (Dec. 12, 2021) — Elisa Pinzan scored 24 points and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu scored 10 straight in a fourth-quarter rally to lead No. 17 South Florida to a 64-57 win over VCU on Sunday.
VCU built a 27-26 halftime lead to 16 with a 15-0 run and led 49-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
Pinzan opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer and after a VCU basket, then Sara Guerreiro hit a 3-pointer for the Bulls. Fankam Mendjiadeu then scored the next 10 points, the final basket making it 52-51. Pinzan ended the 16-0 run with a 3-pointer.
VCU missed nine straight shots during the USF run and was 2 of 15 in the fourth quarter.
After Pinzan’s 3, she scored the last nine USF points by going 9 of 10 from the foul line. Pinzan finished 6 of 8 from the field.
Fankam Mendjiadeu was 10-of-11 shooting in her first start to finish one point shy of matching her career-high. She also had nine rebounds and Bethy Mununga had 12 as the Bulls owned the boards 42-20 and got 15 on the offensive end for 16 points.
Story courtesy of Associated Press. USF athletics communications contributed to this recap.
Key Stat
28-8 – After trailing by as many as 16 points, 42-26 with 5:30 left in the third quarter, the Bulls settled down and eventually outscored VCU, 28-8 in the fourth, which included a 16-0 run, to pull out the victory.
Notable
- Sunday’s starters for the Bulls were: G Elisa Pinzan, G Sydni Harvey, W Elena Tsineke, F Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, and F Bethy Mununga … The Bulls are 1-0 with this lineup.
- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu got her first start in a South Florida uniform on Sunday, and her 50th career start, including her two seasons at Memphis.
- The meeting with VCU marked the 19th meeting all-time between the two schools … The Bulls improve their record in the all-time series to 6-13 following their 64-57 win.
- The win over the Rams marked USF head coach Jose Fernandez’s 398th of his career, two shy of 400 for his career … In his 22nd year as head coach of the Bulls, Fernandez’s career coaching record is 398-279.
- Bethy Mununga’s 12 rebounds marked the 41st time she has grabbed double-digit rebounds in her 61-game South Florida career.
- With her sixth rebound of the afternoon, Mununga reached the 700-career rebound plateau in just 61 career games … She is the second player this season to accomplish the feat, joining Shae Leverett who reached the 700-rebound marker against No. 2 UConn on Nov. 21 in game two of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
- Elisa Pinzan’s game-high 24-point effort against the Rams marks her fifth career 20-point performance, and the second-most she has scored in her South Florida career … She fell just two points shy of her career-high of 26 points, set earlier this season against No. 9 Oregon in the Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game on Nov. 22.
- Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu’s season-high 22 points were one point shy of her career-best of 23 set while at Memphis against Liberty on Dec. 6, 2020.
Up Next
South Florida will finally return home to the Yuengling Center for two straight, beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 15, against in-state foe Stetson for Education Day. Tip-off is at 11 a.m. The Bulls will close out the short home two-game stretch on Dec. 17 against High Point at 7 p.m.
Following the meeting with High Point, South Florida will hit the road again, heading south to take part in the West Palm Invitational at Keiser University in West Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 20-21. The Bulls will open the event against former BIG EAST Conference foe, West Virginia, on Dec. 20 before closing out the event against Ole Miss on Dec. 21. Both games tip-off at 1:15 p.m.
South Florida will close out its 2021-22 nonconference slate on Dec. 29 at the Yuengling Center against Jacksonville. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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USF recorded its best season in program history during the 2020-21 campaign, all while navigating the unpredictable COVID-19 landscape. In doing so, the Bulls won their first-ever American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles, and posted their highest ranking in the Associated Press Top25 poll – reaching as high as No. 12 – and made their ninth straight postseason appearance, and sixth NCAA appearance in the last 10 years.
USF has made 16 postseason tournament appearances and had seven NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 21 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship, and won nearly 400 career games. For his efforts on the sideline during the 2020-21 season, Fernandez was named a finalist for the WBCA and semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year Awards. He was also tabbed the 2021 American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
The Bulls posted a 19-4 record and had five players, during the 2020-21 campaign, the Bulls had five players recognized by The American for impressive seasons, including Elisa Pinzan (Most Improved Player, All-Conference Second Team), Maria Alvarez (Co-Sixth Player of the Year), Bethy Mununga (All-Conference First Team), Elena Tsineke (All-Conference First Team), and Sydni Harvey (All-Conference Third Team).
In addition, Harvey was named the American Athletic Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player and to the All-Tournament Team, while Mununga and Tsineke were also All-Tournament selections.
– #GoBulls –
